Method of liquid purification



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet- 1.

W. OLIPHANT.

I METHOD OF LIQUID PURIFICATION. No. 384,539. Patented June 12, 1888.

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(N0 Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 2.

W.- OLIPHANT. METHOD 0]? LIQUID PURIFICATION.

No. 384,539. Patented June 12, 1888. S

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PATENT E IQE.

WILLIAM OLIPHANT, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF LIQUID PURIFICATION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,539, dated June 12,1888.

Application filed September 12, 1887. Serial No. 249,508. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM OLIPHANT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey City, county of Hudson, State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of LiquidPurification,of'which the following is a specification, that will enableothers skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to understandand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Thisinvention relates to purification of water or other liquid bymechanical filtration under pressure, and is adaptable also to assistedprecipitation of impurities by coagulants.

In practice heretofore the process of filtration has been periodicallyinterrupted by reason of the release from pressure in the apparatus andlaborious method required for removing and substituting the fouledportion of the filter-bed with fresh material at intervals, which arefrequently necessary.

The object sought is to economize the time and labor involved in thesaid practice, and to render the cleansing of the filtrate moreeffectual by the greater frequency of the renewing operation madepracticable.

The invention therefore consists in subjecting the liquid to two or moreseparate filtrations-first, through a partly horizontal bed ofcomparatively coarse material, which arrests the larger percentage ofimpurities, and which, by reason of its horizontally-directed current,is made capable of frequent renewing by automatic means, as hereinafterdescribed, without essential interference with the continuous action offiltration; and, second, through a bed or beds of comparatively finematerial in which upward filtration is preferably employed, and whichtakes up the remaining impurities, the necessary periods of renewaltherein being of less frequent requirement, and then only involvingmomentary interruption of filtration without a release of pressure, themeans of renewal being also automatic, promoting a substantiallyconstant action of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalelevation on the line :0 at, Fig. 2, of the filter and appurtenancesconnected therewith; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the filter on the line 3y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a

partial horizontal section on the line 5 2, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4, a detailview.

The filtering-vessel A is subdivided into chambers O and D by means of apartition, B, and perforated or porous diaphragm E, Figs. 1, 2, and 3.The said diaphragm E is preferably of the construction shown,composed ofa double-perforated plate containing a gravel or other like filling, butmay be otherwise constructed, if preferred, as in the form of asingle-perforated plate,wire-netting, or porous mineral, or otherdiaphragm. The construction shown consists of an upper and a lowerperforated plate, each having oblong perforations (1, Fig. 3, bracedtogether by stays 1), Se cured to the filter-shell about their margins,andsuspended firmly in place by means of brace-rods c, to preventdisplacement under the weight of the filtering-bed to be sustainedthereupon. The filling d of gravel or the like is of a grade of largersize than the orifices of the plates which are to hold it, and has thefunction of preventing the passage of the fine filtering materialdownward out of the chamber D, especially during the washing out andreplacing operation applied to said material, as hereinafter described.

E is an apron of sheet metal for retaining.

the filtering material of the lower chamber in place and directing thecurrent throughout the latter before its access to diaphragm E.

F is a force-pump, shown as an illustration of a suitable source ofliquid-supply under pressure.

3} is the suction-pipe and H the deliverypipe of said pump, the latterpipe entering, preferably,at the top of the chamber 0 through nozzle I,and the liquid, being thrown against the cylindrical structure J, isspread laterally and the current equally distributed at its point ofentrance to the filtering-bed in C, at the top thereof.

J K L are charging funnels or hoppers, through which the filteringmaterial is introduced at times when the apparatus is relieved ofpressure for the purpose, and in sufficient quantities to supply thefilter for a considerable length of time. The caps e f g of said funnelsare removable by means of screwthreads, yokes, or other well-knowndevices, whereby they are pressure-tight when adj usted in place.

H is a bifurcated interprolongation of the filter delivery-pipe N,serving as a separator to insure against particles of matter from thebed in compartment D being carried over into said delivery'pipe. Thestructure of the part M is better illustrated by Figs. 2 and 4. The sameconsists of combined semitubular sectionshi,l1aving an interposedperforated plate, j, subdividing the interior of said sections. Thelower section, being perforated on its eX- tcrior and filled with gravelor the like, allows the inflow of the purified liquid therethrongh andinto pipe N. The induction and eduction liquid-pipes H and N are eachprovided I 5 with suitable val ves,0 P, respectively adapted to partlyor wholly close and regulate the flowing capacity of said pipes.

The means I employ for automatic replacement of the fouled portions ofthe filteringbeds consists in theapplication thereto of hydraulic forcethrough the several series of washing-pipes 7., Z, m,and n,connected,through manifolds It" Z a and pipe Q, to a suitable source of hydraulicpressure, or connected directly to the pump delivery-pipe H, if desired.The water thus forced into the lower or fouled portions of thefilter-beds, or through the gravel filling of the diaphragm E, at suchpoints as are, for instance, indicated, is permitted to 0 escape throughthe discharge or blow-off pipes 0 p q, located as indicated, orelsewhere, if desirable, and adapted to convey with the outgoing currentthe lowermost portions of the filtering mass. Such various inflow andout- 3 5 flow pipes are suitably provided with separate regulatingvalves and cocks, as will be understood by an inspection of the figures.

Suitable man-holes or hand-holes, as R R, are provided at various partsof the shell, such as may afford necessary access to the interior forcleaning or other obvious purposes.

S T are accumulators for receiving and automatically discharging suchportions of air as may rise to the top of the chambers. They areprovided either with water-gages r and hand-valves s or withautomatic-balanced discharge-valves 1, controlled bya float, u, or both.The valve i (shown for illustration) consists of a piston having acircumferential grooved port,

1), adapted to coincide with the port 10 in the valve-casing when thefloat is depressed below its normal position, and thereby opencommunication between the chamber and the exterior air.

U is a vessel containing the coagulating agent, as sulphate of alumina,the same being suspended upon a perforated sheet, a, within.

the pressure-tight tank. The tank U is connected at its lower portionbeneath said perforated sheet by a tube, 1), with the suction side ofthe pump, and at its upper portion by a tube, 0, with the pumpdelivery-pipe H through branch (1, or to the filter delivery-pipe Nthrough branch 0, thus promoting a circu- 6 5 lation from the pressureside of said pump to the top of the tank U and downward through thecoagulant,and thence to thepoint offiltratcsupply.

The tubes b d c are controlled by suitable cocks, f g h. The tube 1) isprovided with an indicating drip-tube, i, of glass, through which theamount of liquid charged with coagulant may be observed and regulated bycock f, or by an adjusting-valve, j, the cock 7r being kept closed.

The operation is as follows: The compartments 0 and D of the apparatusbeing filled nearly to the top with the different grades of filteringmaterial, as specified, said material consisting of sand, pulverizedcoke, charcoal, or other well known filtering substance, through thefunnels or hoppers J K L, and said hoppers closed, the filter is chargedwith the water or other liquid to be filtered at the desiredworking-pressure by means of the pump F.Theimpuritiesaremechanicallyseparated, in part, uniformly through thecoarser bed 0, passing first downward, then horizontally and around theapron E, and are forced upward through the diaphragm E into and throughthe finer bed D, the extreme lower portion. of the latter adjacent tothe diaphragm 11] taking up the remaining impurities. Thence the liquidis conveyed out of the filter through the gravel or other sand-retainingseparator in pipe-extension M.

I find it preferable to employ an upward current in the filteringprocess, allowing the current to strike the heavier portion of the bedfirst, and in the washing-out method which I employ I apply theexpelling force to the fouled material, therefore, at the lower portionof the bed 1), adjacent to the diaphragm 1), through the series ofwashing-out pipes l. The valve P is closed during this operation and theblowoff pipe or pipes 0 are opened, so that said fouled material ishorizontally discharged through pipe 0, allowing the mass of freshmaterial above to remain comparatively undisturbed by reason of thegreat force of horizontal flow from pipes Z, and to subsequently settleas the washing operation ceases upon the diaphragm E. This operationoccupies but abrief period, and is of rare requirement, owing to thepreceding filtration, which has separated the bulk of impurities in thechamber 0, which, owing to the horizontal current therein, may besubjected to frequent blowing out of its lower portion by means of theseries of washing-pipes a and blow-off pipe or pipes p withoutmateriallyinterrupting the flow of filtrate through the upper section ofits horizontal portion. In performing the renewing operation of the bed0 it is found preferable to partly close the valve P in the filterdischarge-pipe and utilize a portion of the filtrate to assist ineliminating the arrested impurities from the upper as well as the lowerportion of said bed 0, and also in driving downtheupper or comparativelynew material thereof to replace the lower. A blow-off pipe, q, isprovided at the point shown, intermediate between the point of Washingdischarge 1) and the inductionpoint I, to afford a more directblow-current, if desired, to cleanse the upper portion of said bedO. Thegravel diaphragm E has also like means of washing out by thepipesmentering between the perforated sheets and discharging suchimpurities as may accumulate by the blow-off pipe 2).

The washing-pipes K are designed more particularly to disturb and makeover the entire body of the bed D when occasioned by the tendency of thewater or other liquid to gradually form channels therein. This evil,however, is caused largely by an excess of charged air introduced withthe liquid, and the function of the accumulators S I is to remove thissurplus air,the same being occasionally ejected by the cock 8 orautomatic valve t, as hereinbefore described.

For purification in the instance of water from clay or peaty matters bymeans of sulphate of alumina or from magnesia salts by the use of lime,the coagulant is placed in the tank U, as described, and by force of thecurrent admitted thereto by the tubes d or h is carried in solution inregulated quantities through the drip-tube t" to the suction side ofthepump F. By this means of introduction the coagulant is thoroughlydiffused through the liquid by the churning action of the pump prior toits delivery to the filter, giving thereby its maximum effect ofprecipitation.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described method of purifying liquid, consisting insubjecting the same to filtration through a bed of one grade ofmaterial, and subsequently through another bed of a different grade ofmaterial, said material being subjected to cross-cleansing currents,substantially as described.

2. The method described of discharging and renewing the fouled portionof an up-current filter-bed, the same consisting in forcing a hydrauliccounter-current horizontally through the lower portion thereof andreplacing the portion so discharged by gravitation of the remainingportion, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

WILLIAM OLIPHANT.

Witnesses:

HENRY F. PARKER, AUG. OREVELING.

